Exploring Nature Science Education Resource:

Life Science, Earth Science, and Physical Science Resources for K-12

Marten (American)

Range

American martens live throughout Canada, Alaska, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, the Rocky Mountains, Colorado, northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Maine, Northern New York and New Hampshire.

Habitat

They like old, dense conifer and mixed forests. They live most of their lives up in the trees (arboreal).

Body Traits

Martens are cat-sized members of the weasel family. Their long, slender bodies have dark-brown fur with a light yellow throat and a bushy tail. Males can be up to 40 inches long, including the tail, which is 1/3 of their length. They can weigh up to 15 pounds, but most weigh less. Females are smaller.

Habits

They eat all winter and are mostly active at night (nocturnal).

Diet

Martens are mostly meat eaters (carnivorous), hunting small animals, like hares, squirrels, birds and frogs. They also eat nuts and fruit and will scavenge dead animals.

Predators

Predators large owls and hawks, fishers, lynx, and bobcats.

Reproduction

Female martens have one litter a year in March or April with about 3 young. They have an unusual reproduction cycle. They actually mate in the summer, but don’t become pregnant until January. This allows a late winter to spring birth, without having to find a mate in the middle of winter. Many mammals have this “delayed implantation” including the black bear, badger and fisher.

Lifespan and/or Conservation Status

They live up to 10 years in the wild. They are listed as Lower Risk - least concern.

Classification

Citing Research References

When you research information you must cite the reference. Citing for websites is different from citing from books, magazines and periodicals. The style of citing shown here is from the MLA Style Citations (Modern Language Association).

When citing a WEBSITE the general format is as follows. Author Last Name, First Name(s). "Title: Subtitle of Part of Web Page, if appropriate." Title: Subtitle: Section of Page if appropriate. Sponsoring/Publishing Agency, If Given. Additional significant descriptive information. Date of Electronic Publication or other Date, such as Last Updated. Day Month Year of access < URL >.